Need help on getting a lense

Hello every one!

After lookiging at tons of different camera forums this seems to have the most active and experienced photographers, so I figured I would be able to get the most help here.

I will be beggining my Masters in August and will be doing a lot of field work (Wildlife Conservation and surveying) and will be going to Africa to do my research. I have had a Canon AE1 with just the basic 52mm lens. However, I really want to get a good lens to take wildlife shots. I will not be able to get to close to the animals and some are going to be big (antelopes, elephants) and others will be small (rodents, birds, lizards). I am really poor at the moment so I need to make my decision very carefully on a lens. I know I could go digital but buy the time I buy the camera, I will not have any money left for the lens.

My question is what would be the best lens for me to get to great great/good pictures. I have searched for lenses but I don't know all the terminology, so hoping you guys could point me in the right direction.

Thank you very much and look forward to learning from you guys.

You basically need the longest telephoto lens possible in my view. Supertelephoto prime lenses are generally more expensive than supertelephoto zooms. If price is a concern consider the following, all work on 35mm cameras.
Tamron 200-500mm zoom about $788 at Beachcamera.com
Sigma 50-500mm zoom about $960 at sigma4less.com
Canon 100-400L zoom about $1366 at digitalfotoclub.com

If cost is an issue, then I'd go with the Tamron, if you want most reach and versatility, then the Sigma, if you want a stabilized lens with weather sealing (I don'd know if your camera is though) then the Canon. Optically they are all in the same to similar ball park.
Photozone.de has reviewed all of those lenses.
Good luck

Be aware that the lenses mentioned are EF mount lenses, and I believe your AE-1 is FD mount. It's certainly not EF mount. If you're desperate, you can probably pick up an EOS film body second hand for not much money, then if you buy a decent lens, you can go digital with it later.

the-digital-picture.com is a good site for information about EF mount lenses.

David

Remember to spell it "Lens"
Sorry that is just a big pet peeve for me...hahaha and i correct anyone that does it!!!

OK i picked up a cheap 90-300mm off ebay about a year ago, i think i paid $150, it is an EF mount but an FD mount should be cheap (It was a brand newie too), it's not a fast lens BUT for outside work it should be fine, and if you use a monopod - even better.

I was an avid film user, and HATED all digital technology, but to be honest when i changed over to DSLR's - trust me.........SO MUCH BETTER! I would suggest going for a DSLR...but if you can't afford it right now, definately get it later. All my film shots - USELESS to me now...im glad i switched when i did, because digital has made me better and better! Experimenting is so much easier!

Del

Im guessing your from the US? (Assuming because most people on here are lol)
http://cgi.ebay.com.au …ZWD2VQQrdZ1QQcm​dZViewItem
i dont know if this one goes on your lens but its an FD mount 300mm....cheap....?

Del

First of all, congrats on starting your masters and your trip to Africa.

With the AE-1, you've got quite a few choices in lenses, and for some really good prices right now. Depending on what your living conditions in Africa will be like, having a low power consumption film camera may be the best for you. Here are a couple lens options from my favorite used camera store: http://www.keh.com

Some options:
1. For 'general purpose', look at the 35-105 f/3.5 macro, about $150-$250
2. For the long range (Elephants, Antelope, etc), look at the 100-300 f/5.6 L, about $300

For less money:
1. For 'general purpose', the 35-70 f/3.5-4.5, about $60-$90.
2. For the long range, th 100-200 f/5.6, about $60.

Considering you'r on a budget, either of thes combos, in addition to the 50mm you have will give you a good focal length range to get the shots you're looking for.

Their website is all in java, so I couldn't give you any direct links, but do the following to take you to the FD Lens pages:

1. From the 'Advanced Search' drop down boxes on the left, select 'Canon Manual Focus' for the first drop down box.

2. Then select 'Zoom Lenses' from the second drop down box.

3. Click 'Go' and it will pull up the most current selection.

Hope this helps, feel free to post back or PM me if you have any questions. I shot FD stuff for the bulk of my 20 or so years in photography.

Yea about the how to spell spell lens - I kept typing it to see which looked right and then I was like oh well

Thanks for the site (lmitch) I found this one lens but it is marked as BRG

BGN
"Bargain" 70-79% of original condition. Shows more than average wear. May have dents, dings and a goodly amount of brassing and finish loss. Glass may have marks that should not affect picture quality.

These are the specs on it:
Canon Manual Focus

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

newbie questions are always welcome - how else do you learn???????????????

PS: Now you will always remember lens not lense hahahaha

"Bargain" lenses are rather ugly physically, but optically they're generally fine. KEH tends to underrate their lenses a bit, I've known people who've bought "Bargain" models only to find they have a few small scratches. Their return policy is really good, so you could get one, shoot a roll and see how it performs before deciding to keep it.

If I remember right, the macro version has a different element combination that allows you to be physically closer to the subject your photographing. "Macro" photography is essentially "Close Up" photography (don't know if you know that already).

No problem on the questions. Ask Away! I'm a big fan of FD equipment, and find myself checking out the latest at KEH once a week or so.

Also, here's a link to "The Canon FD Documentation Project". you can download and read a lot of the FD lens catalogs and get additional information on any lenses you see at KEH:

http://www.canonfd.com​/

As lmitch has indicated, buying FD mount lenses go to with the camera you've got is probably the best option budget wise. You won't have autofocus, or a lens you can use on a digital camera (which are all EF mount), but you should have robust kit.

Make sure that any lens you buy is working properly before you take it to Africa. I suspect that parts availability is roughly nil for most FD mount lenses now, apart from parts salvaged from units that are broken up. However, there's still a lot of FD mount kit around.

David

Well I just purchased that lens so hopefully everything will be fine and will post the picts that come of it as soon as I get it. Thanks for all of your help.

I am suprised that no one mentioned something longer in an FD mount lens. 300mm isn't very long for wildlife. Keep your eyes open for something longer like 400 or 500mm. It won't be a zoom and will most likely be more expensive but will really help with reach. Here is a FD 400mm f/4.5 for example.

http://cgi.ebay.com …ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcm​dZViewItem

I didn't mention the FD super-teles because the OP mentioned he was on a tight budget. the 400's are going for about $400 or more for good ones, so the 100-300 seemed a better fit.